Movie time

Phillip and I went to see "Where the Wild Things Are" this afternoon. I fully enjoy watching movies on base, despite the fact that they are usually about 3-4 weeks behind regular showing, mainly because we only have to pay $4.50! For the 2 of us, plus popcorn and cola, we only spend $16. Not bad considering what it costs in the states. Just remember to stand for the national anthem!

So, I thought the movie was cute and enjoyed the little message it was trying to get across. Phillip on the other hand was not as pleased.

While walking out of the theater...

Phillip: I don't get it. What was that about?

Kim: It's based on a children's book. The message is to be nice to your family.

Phillip: I guess I would have had to read the book.

2 Families walking in front of us with a little girl crying...

Dad: Of course she's crying, the movie was terrible, I didn't get it.

Uncontrollable laughter with a tinge of sadness!! How many people have not read this classic children's book?

Pictures are Up

I finally posted pictures of our trip to Rome and Pisa on facebook. I'll keep posting more about our trip here, but now you can see lots more photos. Here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2308571&id=17019382&l=983afda8ce

Hope you enjoy!!!

Rome Day 1

The day after seeing Pisa we hoped a 4 hour train to Rome!! We made it there around noon, got checked into our hotel, and headed out to see the sights. First stop, the Colosseum!! It was incredible! It's amazing to think that this structure was built almost a full 2,0000 years ago.

The side of the Colosseum. A large portion of the bricks used to build it were taken to build other structures within Rome, including parts of the Vatican. In 1749 Pope Benedict XIV claimed it as a memorial to martyred Christians, and thus a sacred place, stopping its use as a quarry. However, no such evidence exists that Christians were murdered here. None the less, his decree probably saved the Colosseum from further destruction.


Inside the Colosseum. It once sat upwards of 50,000 people. And everyone had a ticket to a specific seat. The senators even had their names carved into the stone of their seats. The names can still be seen!! It is estimated that over 500,000 people and a million animals were killed in the arena.

A view of the eastern portion of the Roman Forum from the Colosseum. They are the ruins of the earliest civilization of Rome, originating in 600 B.C. We would visit them next.




More pictures of the Roman Forum. I find the pillars that are still standing most amazing! You are allowed to wander through the ruins and really get up close to the structures.




That evening we would have dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant near the Trevi Fountain. It is the most famous fountain in Rome. It's very odd though because it is found in a very small square where you are walking between buildings and all of the sudden it's in front of you. Very pretty at night!! I'm so happy we went then too because the crowds were far smaller then and you could really stand and appreciate the beauty. We did go back later the next day to get some daytime pictures and it was a mob scene! Don't forget to throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain for good luck!!

Pisa

Our first day in Italy was spent in Pisa! Our airplane landed at about noon and we easily made it to our hotel by shuttle. We then went straight out and walked over to the Leaning Tower. It was on the complete opposite side of town, but the walk was nice and gave us a chance to see Pisa. We made sure to go straight there before stopping to do anything as we wanted to make sure we got tickets to go to the top!

After we got tickets we went to a little street cafe and had sandwiches. As soon as I sat down and looked at Callie I caught this amazing view!


After lunch we went back to the plaza and took lots more pictures!


You really don't notice how much the tower is leaning until you look at it's base!!


Finally it was our turn to go up into the tower. This is a picture of the well-worn stairs! We found it interesting that as we walked up the 300 stairs, it was hardest when we were walking into the lean. It's only a 4 degree lean, but it makes a significant difference!


The view from the top!! So pretty and well worth the climb!


I have so many more pictures!! I will post more to facebook and post the link here! Pisa was fantastic, but not worth more than a day trip. Besides the Leaning Tower and Cathedral there is not a lot more to see. We had found a nice Italian restaurant near our hotel that evening where we enjoyed pasta and wine before turning in for the day. Next morning...a train ride to Rome!

We're Home!!

Callie and I made it back from Italy today! We visited both Rome and Pisa. We had a fantastic time!! I took almost 900 pictures. Basically this post is just a teaser because I will have to do a much longer post (or multiple posts) later to give the complete story. Callie is still here through Saturday, so those posts will come at a different time.

Some highlights from the trip:
- Leaning Tower of Pisa

- Colosseum

- Roman Forum (ruins)

- Fountain di Trevi

- Pantheon

- Spanish Steps

- Eating Italian food, Gelato, and drinking Italian wine

- Piazza Navona

- Shopping

- Vatican

- Seeing the Pope up close as he drove around in his little Pope mobile

- Listening to the weekly address by the Pope and getting his blessing

- Vatican Museums

- Sistine Chapel

- St. Peter's Basilica

The entire trip was AMAZING and I can't wait to tell everyone more about it!!

Callie!!!

Our friend Callie is here from the states for a visit!!! SO EXCITED!!!! She will be here for about a week, and we are going to do some traveling!!

Apparently Clara missed her too!

Chili!!

I've been meaning to post this for a couple days now, but we made our first pot of chili for the fall season!!

Differences between cooking chili in Germany vs. the U.S:

- We have to use a transformer to use our crock-pot.

- Buffalo meat was substituted for hamburger since the hamburger here is terrible.

All in all, the chili turned out great!!

Fresh air

German houses have to be ventilated for at least 15 minutes each day to prevent mold from growing! Basically, it means going around and opening every door and window. Not such a bad thing, but now its getting cold, and it still has to be done. Hands are freezing right now!! Just 5 more minutes to go!

Progress

And we have curtains!! Yay!

I might have to redo the pole pocket to let out some length though because they are about 3 inches off the floor. It looks a little weird, but as the day has gone on it's not so noticeable. Plus, the curtains are sheer, so I don't know if it would ruin them. But they definitely soften the room and make the white walls not as harsh. Haven't finished hanging all our other stuff though, so I'll post more pictures as we progress. But we're doing pretty good this time! Only 4 months of living here and we are hanging stuff up. At our last place the walls were bare for the first year!

Oh, and Clara would like for you to notice her sweater!

Another view of our room. Just the back door and the side window got curtains so far. Our rolladens are down, which are the exterior shades.

It's been rainy and a little cold here today so Clara got to wear her coat out for her walk. She loves all her coats and sweaters!

Today was also called, "Farmer's Day," so all of the stores were open today! Who would have thought we would have been so excited to go walk around Hela, which is the German Home Depot. One thing Hela has over Home Depot: they have a fresh bakery in the store!! Got some fantastic whole grain bread for 2E!

Home improvements

Today we are working on some interior improvements!

We finally got a shrunk, and one much nicer than the ones handed out from the base. It is massive, and only cost us $80 since the couple we bought it from is moving back to the states and didn't want it anymore! It really saved us a ton of money! I tried to get a decent picture, but its so long, that I couldn't get it in one shot. Now to put away all the clothes we still have in boxes!

Here is Dimetri, our landlord, and Phillip hanging curtain rods. I think it will really help to have some curtains up since we can't paint the walls.

Hopefully we will also finish hanging up the stuff in at least the living room area and I will post some more pictures!